Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $55.68 Million Stock Position in Manulife Financial Corp $MFC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its stake in Manulife Financial Corp (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,534,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 46,908 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Manulife Financial worth $55,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MFC. Canerector Inc. grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 4,445.8% in the 3rd quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 28,184,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $877,932,000 after buying an additional 27,564,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Manulife Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $777,229,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 814.3% in the 2nd quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 6,399,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,544,000 after buying an additional 5,699,999 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Manulife Financial by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 27,822,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $866,649,000 after buying an additional 5,671,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in Manulife Financial by 13,155.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 4,229,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,743,000 after purchasing an additional 4,197,592 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MFC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Manulife Financial in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Manulife Financial from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Manulife Financial currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $51.50.

Manulife Financial Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Manulife Financial stock opened at $38.94 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $37.88 and a 200-day moving average of $36.62. Manulife Financial Corp has a 1-year low of $29.70 and a 1-year high of $40.40. The company has a market cap of $64.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 0.84.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $8.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. Manulife Financial had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 10.19%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Manulife Financial Corp will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be given a dividend of $0.485 per share. This represents a $1.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.75%.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation is a multinational insurance and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in the late 19th century as The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company, Manulife provides a broad range of financial products and services to individual and institutional clients. Its core businesses include life and health insurance, retirement and pension solutions, wealth and asset management, and group benefits.

In wealth and asset management, Manulife operates through Manulife Investment Management and offers mutual funds, segregated funds, institutional asset management, and retirement plan solutions.